Failed Psychological test!

I recently gained conditional employment as a firefighter/EMT. The conditions were based on my passing the following tests: drug test, physical test, voice stress test, psychological test & polygraph. I passed all until I got to the psychological test. Without warning, I was pulled out of probational boot camp during class and was told the fire chief wanted to speak to me. Without allowing me to offer any explanation, he told me I was fired because on my psychological test, I made the mistake of being honest and answered "yes" to the question of "Have you ever paid for sex?". Now I know I am not the only guy out there who did something foolish like that back in college, but I am now 30 yrs old and happily married with 3 kids, a poster-boy for the American dream. I was not allowed to explain myself or defend myself, I was simply dismissed, being told I was now a liability because I had done something illegal. I was later told by human resources that "off the record, you should have lied", as apparently everyone does at some point in the psychological exam. I also know that you are not fired if you answered "yes" to the question of "have you ever experimented with marijuana?". Now that too is illegal, but why are those who answered "yes" to that not fired too? I feel that seomthing here is not only unfair, but very suspect too. Why was I singled out for this, when others outright lie on their tests and admit to smoking dope but don't get fired? Please, can anyone offer me advice on how to handle this, and what I should do next time when I am faced with that question on a psychological test. Also, will this prevent me from gaining employment elsewhere? I was allowed to "resign" rather than getting fired- will this help my chances since I wasn't technically fired on paper?

dont give up

I have not taken a psychological test before, but I will soon. No matter the outcome of mine, I know not to give up. It may be a bit tougher to get a FF job in the future, because they may ask you on your application or questionnaire how many and what cities have you applied to and whether or not you were disqualified. Not all cities ask that question though, so you have some hope still. I wish you the best of luck in the future.

lying

ok so you were supposed to lie, "off of the books."

Has anyone ever heard of a city going back and giving you another polygraph (if you have already taken one earlier in the process) after the psychological? The psych is usually one of the last steps, so if Mossad did lie, do they verify anything on the psych at all? How truthful do you have to be in the psych? What do you have to watch out for if you do not tell the truth on a couple questions?

I don't know what kind of psych they give where you are, but the psych here is essentially a personality assessment. There isn't one single question on it like you have stated. I have taken two of them-each over 4 hours long. There were hundreds of multple choice questions, exercises and math problems, as well as an interview with a psychologist. They assess your personality to see if you will make a good candidate who can work as part of a team.

If that is what you were fired for..if that is what you were REALLY fired for, I would go see a lawyer. In most places in this country, it would take a conviction for something like this to get fired for.

failed psych test

The test was a few hours long and asked questions like the one I got fired for. the psych test was given before taking a polygraph. I agree that something sounds unfair here, and perhaps I should contact a lawyer, but does anyone really know if a fire dept. can fire you on the grounds of having done something illegal (paying for sex) when you were a teenager but you were never convicted of anything?

The test was a few hours long and asked questions like the one I got fired for. the psych test was given before taking a polygraph. I agree that something sounds unfair here, and perhaps I should contact a lawyer, but does anyone really know if a fire dept. can fire you on the grounds of having done something illegal (paying for sex) when you were a teenager but you were never convicted of anything?

You really need a lawyer in the state where this occurred to answer that question.